The Kevin Durant era is over in Brooklyn.
And now the rebuild begins.
As the Nets try to move forward in the wake of trading their superstar, they’ve gone from contender to … something else. Something less.
Here are some burning questions that will have to be answered to find out exactly what:
Is general manager Sean Marks safe now?
Nets owner Joe Tsai has been very patient with Marks, and very open with his wallet, spending what was a record amount for a sports team and then paying copious luxury tax. A lone playoff series win can’t possibly be the kind of return on investment the e-commerce billionaire was looking for.
Marks got the chance to hire three coaches (Kenny Atkinson, Steve Nash and Jacque Vaughn), which is rare. But considering Tsai has had no problems firing his other top executives — Nets parent company BSE has had four CEOs since 2019 and an interim — Marks’ status bears watching this summer.
Is this the best deal they could’ve gotten?
Depends if we’re talking about a vacuum here, which things rarely are.
Under the circumstances, it’s hard to imagine the Nets doing a whole lot better on Wednesday night (or Thursday morning, depending on what time zone you were in) than they did. The problem is the mistakes or missteps that got them there. Holding on to the hope of a title contender is usually the right move, because they come around so rarely, but this is the downside of hope.
Clearly James Harden and Kyrie Irving had made up their minds to leave long before they told the Nets. Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown is likely the best player that was offered to Marks back in the summer, but Durant rescinded his trade request and the Nets clung to the hope of keeping the band together, not realizing it was already broken up.
Are they the biggest bust in recent NBA history?
There is a compelling argument, because these Nets didn’t just disappoint for a year — their failure was multi-seasonal.
The 2007 Mavericks went 67-15 only to get bounced in the first round, but it happens. They offered up a great regular season. These Nets offered draining drama. The 1996-97 Rockets with Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler are up there. Even last year’s Lakers — 31-48, missing the play-in — were still in the afterglow of a title. Brooklyn fans are still waiting for theirs.
What does the roster look like now?
Still in flux, even though the NBA trade deadline passed at 3 p.m. Thursday.
Nic Claxton — whom the Raptors tried to pry out of Brooklyn — is now the building block, along with incoming Mikal Bridges (Defensive Player of the Year runner-up). Can high-scoring Cam Johnson become one?
The Nets flipped Jae Crowder for a couple of second-round picks, and they could still use another big man. Could they hit the buyout market for Serge Ibaka, a couple years after their last flirtation? Or Dewayne Dedmon? Rebounding was an issue even with Durant, but now it’s a nightmare.
The situation is fluid — unfortunately, the fluid was gas, and Durant and Irving tossed in matches on their way out the door.
